Going Once

Description

Somewhere behind a string of dead links, strangers bid real money for the right to choose how a stranger dies. The catch: every bid quietly hands over the bidder’s own name.

Lena Sarwar tracks money that doesn’t want to be tracked, and a client’s missing brother leads her to an encrypted auction floor where the lots are human and the gavel is patient. Bidders think they’re anonymous. They’re wrong — the man running it has built the whole thing so that wanting it badly enough is how he collects you.

When Lena’s username gets flagged as “interested,” she understands she’s not investigating the auction anymore. She’s inventory with a reserve price, and the countdown clock has already started its slow descent.

Crisp and modern without a shred of techno-babble, this is tech horror about the cost of looking. Walton makes the dark web feel like a lit room you wandered into by accident, the door clicking shut behind you. Greed has a price tag here, and it’s your face.

Place your bid. See what you’re really selling.